October is beautiful fall color, raking leaves, chilly evenings, cozy fires, soup in the crockpot, pumpkins and mums by your front door, Halloween treats, and time to slow down and settle in for the season ahead. It just feels good to enjoy the change.
There are, however, a few gardening chores to do in October and cleaning up your gardens is on the list. Start with anything that had problems, such as powdery mildew, and cut those perennials back to the ground and get rid of the old foliage. Powdery mildew could re-infect plants next year so a good clean-up is order. Also, cut back any perennials that had any type of insect or disease issue at all.
Another important chore is to water trees and shrubs well until the ground freezes. We help those plants get through the winter by giving them all the water they can drink until the big thaw comes next spring. Evergreens use water all winter because their needles still photosynthesize. Rhododendrons keep their leaves all through winter and use the moisture in them too, you can actually see the leaves curl when they are running low on moisture and flatten back out if they get some water in their system. Rhododendrons are also full of buds for next spring’s blooms and those buds need moisture also. So water until the ground freezes, it’s a good thing!
Now let’s talk fun! Have you ever made a pumpkin tower? You can make a pumpkin tower sitting on top of a nice container by your home or right on the ground. Pumpkins come in white, orange, green, warty, stripes, and vary in size and shape. Start with a larger pumpkin on the bottom and work your way up getting smaller as you go. Add a few colorful leaves between the pumpkins and maybe a grapevine garland and what a cheerful welcome you will have out front for all of your visitors this fall. At the base of the tower add a colorful mum or two, possibly a scarecrow, or even a little Halloween ghost. Another great decorating idea is to use some honeysuckle garland by your entry, whether clustered and draped around your door or resting in loops on a fence it is total charm. You can even add a fall plaid bow and some Indian corn. With pumpkins, mums, corn shocks, straw bales, Indian corn, grapevine items and a beautiful variety of special decorative items made exclusively at Pahl’s, we can help make your home a beautiful welcoming Autumn scene.
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